The present invention is directed to treating joint pain and joint mobility in non-arthritic mammalian subjects.
Of interest to the present invention is the disclosure of Trentham, U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,347 which is directed to a method of treating autoimmune arthritis by the oral, enteral or by-inhalation administration of collagen protein or the biologically active peptide fragments thereof. In particular, Trentham teaches that administration of collagen is effective in treating autoimmune arthritis by means of oral antigen tolerization therapy. According to these methods collagen and biologically active peptides are administered to suppress the autoimmune response responsible for arthritis while leaving other immune functions of the treated mammal intact.
Previous studies have shown that small doses of undenatured Type II collagen modulate joint health in both OA and RA [24-26]. Tong et al. [27] have shown, using an in vivo model of collagen induced arthritis (CIA), that ingesting microgram quantities of undenatured type II collagen significantly reduces circulating levels of inflammatory cytokines thereby decreasing both the incidence and the severity of arthritis similar to results obtained by others [28]. The ability to alter immunity via the ingestion of a food, or an antigen is called oral tolerance. This is an ongoing normal physiological process that protects the alimentary tract against untoward immunological damage [29, 30]. Research into its mechanism of action has revealed that several distinct types of T regulator cells mediate this phenomenon by releasing IL-10 and TGF-β [30]. It has also been shown that this effect is transitory in nature requiring that the food, or antigen, be consumed continuously in order to maintain the tolerogenic state [30].
Also of further interest to the present application are the disclosures of Moore U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,570,144, 5,529,786, 5,637,321 and 5,645,851 which are directed to the administration of type II collagen for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis. It has further been observed that undenatured type II collagen maintaining the native conformation of its proteins is particularly useful in treating arthritis.
While both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis are inflammatory conditions not all joint pain is associated with an inflammatory condition. Such pain is frequently induced by exercise or other mechanical stressors and there remains a desire for therapies capable of preventing and treating such pain in humans and other mammals.